What we know so far about the Trump attack shooter

In November, Thomas Matthew Crooks was about to reach a political milestone: the first presidential election in which he was old enough to vote.

Crooks, a 20-year-old who lives in a swing state, has previously shown signs of an interest in politics, having made a small donation as a teenager and registered to vote just a week after turning 18.

But instead of voting this year, according to law enforcement, Crooks traveled an hour north of his home, climbed onto the roof of a building and opened fire on former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally, nearly killing him.

Crooks’ attack, which killed one bystander and seriously injured two others, has deeply shaken American politics, with elected officials on both sides condemning the violence and warning of the dangers of the country’s deep polarization.

So far, investigators have not found any evidence from the teen’s social media or other writings that could help identify a motive for the attempted murder, law enforcement officials say.

But interviews of CNN More than half a dozen of Crooks’ former classmates and neighbors portrayed him as quiet and aloof, with classmates remembering him as a misfit in high school.

Additionally, a review of public records suggests he may have had divergent political leanings, with the young man registering to vote as a Republican but making a small donation to a Democratic-leaning group.

Crooks lived in the Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park, about an hour’s drive south of the Trump rally where law enforcement officials say he shot the former president.

He graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022, according to a local media report and a video of the school’s graduation ceremony.

Jason Kohler, 21, who attended the same school, told CNN that Crooks was bullied by other students and appeared to be a loner.

Crooks had “no facial expression” when he walked the halls of the school, Kohler said. “He wasn’t, like, in the clique, so he always had, I guess, a target on his back,” she added.

Another former student at the school, Sarah D’Angelo, remembered Crooks as “a quiet kid, not obviously political or violent in any way.” She said the only time he spoke to her was when her class was waiting for the graduation ceremony to begin.

A third classmate, who asked not to be identified, said Crooks was very smart, took honors classes and was shy. She said he had a group of friends who were quite conservative, some of whom wore Trump hats.

“There was definitely some talk about him just looking a little different,” the classmate said of Crooks. “Almost a retro nerd vibe,” he added.

Crooks’ high school experience was disrupted by the pandemic, with students out of school for months in 2020 and allowed to learn remotely afterward, the classmate said. She added that she didn’t remember seeing him much during his sophomore or junior year.

When she learned that Crooks had been identified as the shooter at the Trump rally, the colleague said, “I was shocked — I just couldn’t believe he would do something so bold, considering he was such a quiet, private person.”